Sex harassment case involving Trudeau Foundation should be heard in N.L., lawyer says
The lawyer representing a woman who alleges she was sexually harassed by a former Northwest Territories premier says her client would likely have to end her lawsuit if a judge determines the trial should be moved to Quebec.
Kathryn Marshall, with the Toronto-based law firm Levitt Sheikh, argued in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court today that the case should be heard in that province, because that is where the alleged misconduct took place.
She says her client, Cherry Smiley, would have to bear the cost and emotional strife of starting over with a search for a new lawyer who can speak both French and English in a case that has already been difficult and slow.
Smiley's statement of claim alleges she was sexually harassed in June 2018 in St. John's, N.L., by Stephen Kakfwi, who was her appointed mentor through a scholarship program offered through the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
The statement of claim was filed with the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in March 2022, and names Kakfwi and the Trudeau Foundation as defendants.
Lawyer Colm St. Roch Seviour, who represents the Montreal-based foundation, says the case should be heard in Quebec because it involves an alleged breach of a contract whose terms are governed by Quebec law.
In a statement of defence, Kakfwi has denied any contact with Smiley that "could be construed as being sexual in nature."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.